Blower vs. Plow

[ducati996]

Thanks Dutch -excellent info!

 

[autotechmark]

Hi Chuck,
I have an M6800 and used to have the ss84. I found that the tractor wouldn't go slow enough and ended up bending the auger. I also have a plow on my truck and found the buildup on the driveway to be a problem. I now have a push plow for the tractor which is a big steel box that collects the snow instead of casting it to the side. The bottom has a thick tire rubber scraper which squeegees right down to pavement without the buildup that you get from a plow. Also if you have a ss84 you better have a cab or frosty you will become. Good luck.

Mark.

 

[pick_up_man]

from what i hear a plow will work much better for the little bit of snow you get. You can move alot faster with a plow than you can with a blower. if all you are moving is 3 or 4 inches of snow at a time a plow will work much better. up here in canada me and my father operate a small bobcat bussiness we have a 7 foot blade for it and the bobcat is only 35 horse. on averave it only takes a few minutes to do a small driveway. If you angle your plow to one side you can probaly go full speed and throw the snow back a ways anyway. thats how most of the steets and roads are cleared here.

 

[slowzuki]

I haven't read any replies but I live in Canada and have had several pickup mounted plowers, a few tractors with loaders and blowers and of course the good old shovel.

I plow out our farm (1000 ft), the neighbours farm (1500-2000 ft) and my parents 300 ft driveway. I also have plowed semi-comercially for a few clients.

Under say 12" of snowfall the power angle blade is the king of driveways. On a truck or tractor it is the fastest most effective tool.

Over 12" up to about 24" it comes down to if there is room to push the snow too. The plow gets slowed down banking snow for storage.

Over 24" the blower reigns supreme if you have a rock free driveway and a place to shoot the snow.

My 7 ft blower doesn't do as good of job scraping down a driveway as the plow does. Next winter I am mounting the power angle plow on the loader so I can have both available all the time.

The loader bucket is terrible, it can't angle to match driveway surface. It is good for down pressure to scrape hard on frozen ground but that is hard on a loader and tractor.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Snowblower is definitely the tools for serious amounts of snow but you don't have that. Furthermore you should really have a cab even if only soft-sided) to keep something between you and the inevitable blower-induced wind-drifting snow.

I have a similar class tractor (Kubota M6800), picked up a used Fisher plow, a quick attach plate and got an a-frame adapter welded on it for around $100 and can finish a 2250' drive covered with 12" of snow in about 30 minutes. Won't do that with a snowblower and it will cost you a lot more too.

EdK, Sorry to use yours as an example but I cant get real with what Im hearing here. I have a 26 or 28" MTD 8HP. It cost $600. It will go as fast as I can comfortably walk behind it thru 15" snow wet or dry. I clear my .95mile gravel drive with 4 passes in about an hour. Quite a strenuous walk, but fast. Snow is thrown 30-50 feet. An aggressive push speed causes it to be thrown further if the engine doesnt bog. Doesnt seem to be much of a problem - - I just go as fast as the engine will support. It seems to use almost exactly 1G of gas for the drive. Best to fill the 1G tank back up before the 3rd pass so I can be sure to make it back on the 4th!
I have since gotten a front mount thrower for my BX1500 but unfortunately it is underpowered for the 50" available width and bogs down so you cant go near as fast. Wife can use it too tho. Cant handle the walkbehind.
Larry